Combination sofa and bed



H. NOCK COMBINATION SOFA AND BED April-23, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25. 1955 5/ W 7 q mm 1% Y M, A m 6 w m n a 5 WM 2 April 23, 1957 H. NOCK 2,789,291

COMBINATION SOFA AND BED Filed July 25, 1955 3 She'ets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

H. NOCK COMBINATION SOFA AND BED April 23, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 25, 1955 INVENTOR. JZZZW' 1V5 clf (Zfz orngs'.

United States Patent COMBINATION SOFA AND BED Harry Nock, Los Angeles, Cflif.

Application July 25, 1955, Serial No. 524,241

12 Claims. (Cl. -47) This invention relates to dual purpose articles of furniture, and particularly to a combination sofa seat and bed.

An object. of the invention is to provide an improved and simple combination sofa and-bed which can be easily and quickly converted from asofa-to a bed and vice versa With a minimum of effort, which will remain definitely in both bed and sofa seat positions, which need not be moved away from the wall along which it is placed when it is converted from a sofa to a bed and vice versa, and which will be relatively simple, durable, practical, convenient and relatively inexpensive.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description. of an embodiment of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the'appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse, vertical, sectional elevation of a combination sofa and bed constructed in accordance with this invention, but with the parts in the sofa-v position;

Fig. 2 is a similar elevation, but with the parts shifted into a bed position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan of one end of the device while in sofa position;

Fig. 4 is a top plan of the same butwith' the parts in the bed position;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of'the latch mechanism when the parts are in sofaposition;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to part of Fig. 5, but with the latch parts in an intermediate position, just before lowering the back rest to a bed position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but with the parts in the bed position, with the latch unlatched; and

Fig, 8 is a sectional elevation approximately along the line 88 of Fig. 2, with certain parts shown in elevation instead of being sectioned;

In the embodiment of the invention, the device includes a baseframe 1, which is generally rectangular in shape and which has end pieces 2 that are connected by a front bar 3, a rear bar 4 and an intermediate bar 5. Disposed above each end member 2 is an arm rest 6-, Figs. 1 and 3, which is separate from the base frame I. These arm rests 6' are free to move forwardly and rear- Wardly to a limited extent, and to guide the arms in' this limitedmovement forwardly and rearwardiy, I provide on the inner face of each end member 2 of the base frame, a pair'of parallel links 7 and 8 which are pivoted at 9 and 19- respectively tothe end member 2 of the base frame. These links 7' and 8: extend upwardly, and the link 7" is pivoted by apin 11- to the adjacent arm rest- 6 which has, as a part of it, an arm frame 12', see Figs-a land 2. The upper end of each link his pivoted at 13 to the: adjacent. arm rest frame: 12 and therefore the arm rest frames 12, together with the-links 7 and 8 and the base. member'li form two parallel linkages-which confine the arm rests: 6 to the base frame I, and yet 2 guide the arm rests forwardly and rearwardly. In Fig. 1 the links 7 and 8 are in' their upwardly and rearwardly extending positions which they occupy when the device is in a sofa seat condition, and" in Fig. 2 they are shown when they are in theirbed positions; Thereis. a parallel linkage of this type at each end of the base frame 1.

The device includes a" seat 14' and a back rest 15 which are disposed edge to" edge between the arm re'sts 6. The seat and the back rest each have a base which is rigid, the" base for the seat 12 being identified by the numeral 16, and the base for the back rest 15 being identified by the numeral 17; A metal plate 1'8 is fixed to the rear of the seat base 16 at each end thereof, and similarly metal plates 19' are fixed to the back rest base 17 in approximately front and rear ailinem'ent with the plates 18 of the'seat. These two plates 18 and 19 ateachend of the seat are pivoted together by'a hinge o'rpin 2% which pin is disposed between the adjacent lengthwise edges of the seat and back rest, and near the upper face of the seat.

The frame 12 of each arm rest isprovided with an upstanding arm 21, and at its upper end this arm 21 is pivoted by a pin 22' to the adjacent plate 1-9, on the lower end of the upstanding back rest eccentrically of the hinge or pin 29' which connect the back rest and seat together. This pin 22 serves as a fulcrum on which the back rest may rock when moving from its upstanding sofa position to its horizontal bed position. Thus, whenthe arm rests 6 are moved forwardly by the parallel linkagesv at the ends of the base frame, the lower edge of the upstanding back rest. 15 will be shifted forwardly, which would be to the left in Fig. 1', and when the arm rests are returned totheir rearward! positions, this fu-lcrum pin 22' is carried rearwardly into the position shown in Fig. 1. The link 8 at each end of the frame 1 is extended upwardly beyond its pivot pin 13 and is there pivotally connected by a pin 23 to one end of a link 24, the other end of which isv pivotally connected by pin 25 to the adjacent plate 19 adjacent an endof the back rest 15. The pin 25 is eccentric to. the fulcrum pin 22 and the-hinge pin 20.

The side arm frames 12 are connected together by a bar 26 so that the two arm restsmust movetogether forwardly and rearwardly asa unit. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1, where the. device is set to -function as a sofa seat, if one desires to-now' convert it into a bed, one-merelygrasps the seat 14 at its forward end; lifts it, and pulls it forwardly. When this happens, the seat 14 will exert a pull through the-hinge 21 on the back rest and pull'it forwardly, and this in turn, through the fulcrums 22,. pulls the armrest frames 12 forwardly and shifts the lower end. of the back rest forwardly. As the frames 12 move forwardly, the parallel linkage, through the links '7 and 3, will cause concurrent movement of the arm rests forwardly from the positions shown in Fig. 1 to the positions shown in Fig. 2, during which the links 8 acting through. the links 24, will rock the back rest about its fulcrum. 22 into the horizontal position shown in- Fig. 2. This rocking movement of the backrest is limited when the base of the back rest engages against the bar- 26. that connects'the arm rest frames 12, asshown in Fig; 2.

The seat base 16 is provided with one or more depending members 27 which, when the seat has been pulled forwardly until the back rest is [in a horizontal position, will rest upon the front crossbar 3 and support the forward position of the seat- 14.

It will be observed that the links 7 and 8" of each parallel linkageinove through vertical dead-center positions when the arm rests 6* are moved forwardly and rearwardly', so that this linkage will lock the partsin either'of the two positions, and normal forces applied in the use of the Y 3 device as a sofa or a bed will not change the position of the parts when used as either a seat or a bed. When changing the seat and back rest from one position to another, that is from bed to sofa and vice versa, the passage of the linkage through vertical dead-center linkage automatically unlocks the parts so that it is merely necessary to lift and move the seat forwardly or rearwardly to operate it into either bed or sofa position. Since the back rest is mounted on the arm rests, the forward movement of the arm rests shifts forwardly the fulcrums 22 of the backrest, so that the upper end of the back rest will clear the wall as it rocks into its horizontal bed position. This makes it unnecessary to pull the device away from the wall when changing it from a sofa to a bed position or vice versa. Thus the back rest can swing up or down without rubbing against the wall against which the device may be placed. When the arm rests are in their rearward positions, such as when the device is converted into a sofa, the cross bar 26 of the arm rests will rest upon the cross bar 4 of the base frame '1, Fig. 1.

While the seat and back rest will remain in either bed or sofa positions, as explained above, it is sometimes desirable to have included also a latch to hold the parts in their sofa position and to facilitate moving the back rest into a sofa or back rest position. Such mechanism is shown in Figs. to 7. A latch arm 28 is pivoted at 29 to the hinge plate 18 at one end of the device and extends upwardly and to the right, as in Fig. 5. A spring 38 is engaged at one end in an aperture 30a in the plate 18 and at its other end over the arm 28, and serves to yieldingly and continuously urge the arm 28 clockwise in Fig. 5. The arm 28 is preferably an angle strip, as shown, and a dog 31 is pivoted at 32 to one wall of the free end portion of the arm 28 to swing vertically thereon. This dog extends lengthwise beyond the free end of the arm 28 and is limited in its pivotal movement counterclockwise in Fig. 5 by engagement against the other wall 33 of the angle bar arm.

The dog 31 is provided with a V-shaped tooth 34 in its lower edge, and at one side of the tooth the dog has a recess 35, one wall of which is formed by a wall of the tooth 34. The arm 28 is provided with a shoulder 36 near the free end which faces the other wall of the tooth 34 so as to provide two notches in this arm and dog combined which are separated by the same l-shaped tooth. The plate 19 carries a pin 37 on its face along which the arm 28 extends, and the shoulder 36 engages against this 37 when the parts are in the sofa position shown in Fig. 5. The weight of the back rest tends to cause it to rock on its fulcrums 22, but the engage ment of the pin 37 against the shoulder 36 prevents this without first lifting the seat. When one lifts the seat, it automatically pulls the arm 28 lengthwise, which would be downwardly and to the left in Fig. 5, at which time the engagement of the cylindrical pin 37 with the adjacent oblique face of the tooth 34 causes the arm 28 to be cammed in a counter-clockwise direction, so that the pin 37 will pass the tooth 34 and snap into the recess or notch 35, as shown in Fig. 6.

Upon further lifting of the seat and pulling it forwardly, it rocks the back rest towards the horizontal position and the back rest pulls the arm rests forwardly into the positions shown in Fig. 2. During this forward travel of the arm rests, the pin 3 moves along the lower edge of the arm 28, and the dog 31 falls by gravity into the position shown in Fig. 7. This dog may rock into this depending position while the pin 37 is engaged in its notch 35 and then as the back rest continues to rock into horizontal position, the pin- 37 is moved beneath and along the edge of the arm 28 beyond the shoulder 36. The pin 37 therefore prevents further movement of the arm 28 under the action of the spring 30. This is the bed position of the back rest and seat, and when it is desired to move the seat and bed rest into their sofa positions, the front end of the seat is lifted, and in doing so, the arm 28 rides along pin 37 until the latter moves into alinement with the notch in the dog in front of shoulder 36. Then the seat is pushed rearwardly and this pushes back rest fulcrums 22 and the arm rests rearwardly, so that the link 24 will cause the back rest to swing counterclockwise in Fig. 5 at the same time that the fulcrums 22 are moving rearwardly. This then holds the back rest in its upstanding or sofa position until the seat is again lifted and moved forwardly.

It will be observed that when the seat is lifted while in the Fig. 7 position, the back rest will remain horizontal while the arm 28 moves along the pin 37 until the latter engages the dog 31 and earns it into the straightout position shown in Fig. 5, whereupon the arm 28 moves to engage over the pin 37 and confine it against the shoulder 36. Then, when the forward end of the seat is pushed downwardly and rearwardly, it rocks the back rest into its upstanding position, and at the same time moves the arm rests rearwardly so that the seat andback rests will resume the relative positions shown in Fig. 1.

In order to avoid gaps in the bed at the rear corners thereof because of the forward movements of the arm rests, the arm rests have notches or recesses 40 in their rear ends, see Figs. 3 and 4, and the back rest has end extensions 41 beyond the plates 19 which fit into these notches or recesses 40. When the seat and back rest are in the sofa positions shown in Fig. 3, the back rest will overrun lengthwise somewhat with the arm rests. When the seat and back rest are in their bed positions, as shown in Fig. 4, the back rest end extensions will also fill the notches or recesses in the arm rests. This leaves only insignificant spaces at the rear corners of the device that do not materially limit the available bed area. It will be understood that the upper or horizontal faces of the arm rests are at the same level as the upper faces of the seat and back rest when they are in their bed positions. The seat drops below the upper, horizontal faces of the arm rests when the parts are moved into the sofa position, so that then the arm rests will function as arm rests above the level of the seat when the parts are in their bed positions, the upper surfaces of the arm rests functioning as part of the bed surface. and not as arm rests.

It will be understood that various changes in the details and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A dual purpose, combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, arm rests, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed edge to edge and hinged together at their adjacent edges, and a parallel linkage connecting each arm rest to the adjacent end of said frame, to guide each arm rest forwardly and rearwardly, with the links of said linkages passing through vertical, dead-center positions in each of such arm rest movements, a pivotal connection directly connecting the forward portion of said back rest at each end thereof to the adjacent arm rest, whereby the fulcrum of the back rest will move forwardly and rearwardly with said arm rests, the parallel linkage at each end of the frame having an operating connection to the adjacent end portion of the back rest to rock the back rest on its said pivoted connections to the arm rests, between its upstanding position where it functions as the back rest, and a horizontal bed position, as the arm rests move forwardly and rearwardly, said arm rests at their rear portions serving as stops for the back rest to limit movement of the back rest downwardly beyond horizontal bed position, and said seat having portions which canengage and be supported by thebase frame when the seat is in both its bed and sofa seat positions.

2. A dual purpose, combination sofa and bed comprising a )base frame, arm rests, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed edge to edge and hinged together at their adjacent edges, and a parallel linkage connecting each arm rest to the adjacent end of said frame, to guide each arm rest forwardly and rearwardly, with the links of said linkages passing through vertical, dead-center positions in each of said arm rest movements, a pivotal connection directly connecting the forward portion of said back rest at each end thereof to the adjacent arm rest, whereby the fulcrum of the back rest will move forwardly and rearwardly with said arm rests, the parallel linkage at each end of the frame having an operating connection to the adjacent end portion of the back rest to rock the back rest on its said pivoted connections to the arm rests, between its upstanding position where it functions as the back rest, and a horizontal bed position, as the arm rests move forwardly and rearwardly, said arm rests at their rear portions serving as stops for the back rest to limit movement of the back rest downwardly beyond horizontal bed position, and said seat having portions which can engage and be supported by the base frame when the seat is in both its bed and sofa seat positions, said base frame and arm rests having portions engaging to limit said forward and rearward movements of the arm rests.

3. A dual purpose, combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, arm rests, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed edge to edge and hinged together at their adjacent edges, and a parallel linkage connecting each arm rest to the adjacent end of said frame, to guide each arm rest forwardly and rearwardly, with the links of said linkages passing through the vertical, dead-center positions in each of such arm rest movements, a pivotal connection directly connecting the forward portion of said back rest at each end thereof to the adjacent arm rest, whereby the fulcrum of the back rest will move forwardly and rearwardly with said arm rests, the parallel link-age at each end of the frame having an operating connection to the adjacentend portion of the back rest to rock the back rest on its said pivoted connections to the arm rests, between its upstanding position where it functions as the back rest, and a horizontal bed position, as the arm rests move forwardly and rearwardly, said arm rests at their rear portions serving as stops for the back rest to limit movement of the back rest downwardly beyond horizontal bed position, and said seat having portions which can engage and be supported by the base frame when the seat is in both its bed and sofa seat positions, said operating connections including a link pivoted at one end to a link of said linkage and at its other end to the hinged edge portion of the back rest eccentrically of its fulcrum on the arm rests.

4. A dual purpose, combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, arm rests, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed edge to edge and hinged together at their adjacent edges, means mounting said arm rests on the base frame for forward and rearward movements thereon, a pivotal connection directly connecting the forward portion of said back rest at each of its ends to the adjacent arm rest so that the back rest will move forwardly and rearwardly with the arm rests, means connecting said back rest and the arm rests eccentrically of the pivotal connections between the back rest and arm rests for movement of the 'back rest angularly on its pivotal connections to the arm rests into a horizontal position when the arm rests move forwardly, and for movement of the back rest in the opposite direction into an upstanding position when the arm rests move rearwardly, the seat and frame having cooperating parts to support the forward part of the seat when the seat is lifted and pulled forwardly to position the back rest in bed position, and also to support the forward part of the seat when it is pushed rearwardly and downwardly to position the back rest in its upstanding back rest position.

5. A dual purpose, combination sofa and bed, com- 6 prising a base frame, arm rests, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed edge to edge and hinged together at their adjacent edges, means mounting said arm rests on the base frame for forward and rearward movements thereon, the forward portion of said back rest being pivoted at each of its ends to the adjacent arm rest so that the back rest will move forwardly and rearwardly with the arm rests, means connecting said back rest and the arm rests eccentrically of the pivotal connections between the back rest and arm rests for movement of the back rest angularly on its pivotal connections to the arm rests into a horizontal position when the arm rests move forwardly, and for movement of the back rest in the opposite direction into an upstanding position when the arm rests move rearwardly, the seat and frame having cooperating parts to support the forward part of the seat when the seat is lifted and pulled forwardly to position the back rest in bed position, and also to support the forward part of the seat when it is pushed rearwardly and downwardly to position the back rest in its upstanding back rest position, said arms having an abutment against which said back rest may engage, and be supported by, when the back rest is rocked into its horizontal, bed position.

6. A combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, arm rests, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed edge to edge and hinged together at their adjacent edges and close to the plane of the upper face of said seat, axially alined pivot pin mounting the ends of said back rest on said arm rests and having their axes eccentric to but near the hinged connections between said seat and back rest, means for mounting said arm rests on said base frame for forward and rearward movements, and links connecting said arm rests to the ends of said back rest eccentrically of said axes, said seat and frame having cooperating parts that engage and support the seat when the seat and back rest are both in horizontal positions and when the seat is pushed backwardly into sitting position.

7. A combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, arm rests, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed edge to edge and hinged together at their adjacent edges and close to the plane of the upper face of said seat, axially alined pivot pins mounting the ends of said back rest on said arm rests and having their axes eccentric to but near the hinged connections between said seat and back rest, means for mounting said arm rests on said base frame for forward and rearward movements, and links connecting said arm rests to the ends of said back rest eccentrically of said axes, said seat and frame having cooperating parts that engage and support the seat when the seat and back rest are both in horizontal positions and when the seat is pushed backwardly into sitting position, said arm rests and back rest having cooperating parts that engage and support a portion of said back rest to the rear of the axes of said pivot pins when the back rest is in a horizontal position.

8. A combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, parallel arm rests separate from said frame, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed between said arm rests and above said frame, in edge to edge relation, and hinged together at their adjacent edges, said back rest being rockably mounted at its ends on said arm rests eccentrically of the hinged connection between the back rest and seat, said seat being free to swing upwardly and downwardly on its connection to said back rest, means connecting said arm rests to said base frame for limited forward and rearward movement of said arm rests on said frame, and a connection from said connecting means to said back rest eccentrically of the rockable mounting of the back rest for rocking said back rest on said arm rests when the arm rests are moved forwardly or rearwardly on the base frame, said frame having parts on which said seat may descend and be supported thereby in its forward and rearward positions into which it moves when it is shifted to rock said back rest selectively between its upstanding sofa position and its horizontal bed position. a

9. A combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, parallel arm rests separate from said frame, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed between said arm rests and above said frame, in edge to edge relation, and hinged together at their adjacent edges, said back rest being rockably mounted at its ends on said arm rests eccentrically of the hinged connection between the back rest and seat, said seat being free to swing upwardly and downwardly on its connection to said back rest, means connecting said arm rests to said base frame for limited forward and rearward movement of said arm rests on said frame, and a connection from said connecting means to said back rest eccentrically of the rockable mounting of the back rest for rocking said back rest on said arm rests when the arm rests are moved forwardly or rearwardly on the base frame, said frame having parts on which said seat may descend and be supported thereby in its forward and rearward positions into which it moves when it is shifted to rock said back rest selectively between its upstanding sofa position and its horizontal bed position, said arm rests having abutments engaged by the back rest when the latter reaches horizontal bed position to limit farther downward movement of said back rest.

10. A combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, parallel arm rests separate from said frame, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed between said arm rests and above said frame, in edge to edge relation, and hinged together at their adjacent edges, said back rest being rockably mounted on its ends on said arm rests eccentrically of the hinged connection between the back rest and seat, said seat being free to swing upwardly and downwardly on its connection to said back rest, parallel linkage connecting said base frame to said arm rests for moving said arm rests forwardly and rearwardly on said frame to limited extents, and a link pivoted to one of the links of said parallel linkage, at one end of the frame, to the back rest eccentrically of the rockable mounting of said back rest on the arm rest at said one end of the frame for causing when rocking of the back rest on said arm rests forward and rearward movements of the arm rests, said frame having portions on which said seat may descend and be supported thereby when the arms are in either forward or rearward positions.

11. A combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, parallel arm rests separate from said frame, one rest at each end of said frame, a seat and a back rest disposed between said arm rests and above said frame, in edge to edge relation, and hinged together at their adjacent edges, said back rest being rockably mounted at its ends on said arm rests eccentrically of the hinged connection between the back rest and seat, said seat being free to swing upwardly and downwardly on its connection to said back rest, parallel linkage connecting said base frame to said arm rests for moving said arm rests forwardly and rearwardly on said frame to limited extends, and a link pivoted to one of the links of said parallel linkage, at one end of the frame, to the back rest eccentrically of the rockably mounting of said back rest on the arm rest at said one end of the frame, for causing when rocking 'of the back rest on said arm rests, forward and rearward movements of the arm rests, said frame having portions on which said seat may descend and be supported thereby when the arms are in either forward or rearward positions, said arm rests being connected together by a cross member on which the back rest may engage for support, to the rear of a vertical plane through the axes of the pivotal mountings of the back rest on said arms, when the back rest rocks into its horizontal bed position. v

12. A combination sofa and bed, comprising a base frame, parallel arm rests, one at each end of the frame and separate from the frame, a seat and a back rest disposed between said arm rests and in edge to edge relation to each other, means b inging the back rest to the arm rests so as to rock therein from upstanding sofa back rest position into a horizontal bed position, and eccentrically of the hinged connection between the seat and back rest, means connecting the base frame to the arm rests and guiding the arm rests in limited forward and rearward movements, and a connection between said connecting means and said back rest at a point eccentrically of the pivotal mounting of the back rest on the arm rests, for rocking the back rest into its horizontal bed position when the arm rests are moved forwardly on the base frame, and rocking the back rest back to its upstanding sofa position when the arm rests are moved rearwardly on the base frame, said base frame having supports for the seat, forwardly of the hinged connection between the seat and back rest, when the seat is in its forward and rearward limits of its movement, whereby one may convert the parts to a sofa seat or a bed by merely lifting thefront of the seat and moving it forwardly to create a bed and rearw-ardly to create a sofa. seat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,495,413 Harman Jan. 24,' 1950 2,501,464 Bernstein Mar. 21, 1950 2,508,598 Dean et al. May 23, 1950 2,597,639 Hildreth May 20, 1952 2,633,181 Bell Mar. 31', 1953 2,681,470 Johnson June 22, 1954 2,694,814 Doner Nov. 23, 1954 

